WASHINGTON — Amid intense polarization, alleviating the rising cost of child care for millions of American families is an area Republicans and Democrats in Washington believe they can find common ground.
A bipartisan group of senators is unveiling a new bill Wednesday, shared first with NBC News, that would expand a key grant program for child care that hasn’t been touched in more than a decade.
“This is something that we need to work on together,” Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said in an interview in the Capitol. “We can’t just have one party or another try to take control, try to push something that won’t work in other parts of the nation.”
Fischer joined forces with Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, to update the Child Care and Development Block Grant to strengthen child care services and help increase the supply of providers at a time when costs are significantly growing for parents.
More than 40% of families in the U.S. can’t access affordable child care, according to a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute, which also shows that child care for just one infant costs more than rent in 17 states. It’s why the bill would give states the opportunity to help families above the current income eligibility (85% of the state’s average income) through a waiver process.
And, critically, the legislation provides funding for states to help address significant provider shortages nationwide, as more and more working parents are finding it difficult to locate quality child care. By modernizing the grant, states will have greater flexibility in reimbursing child care workers for providing quality care to families that are eligible, its authors say.
It would also provide support for in-home child care providers, who make up nearly 40% of formal care for babies and children up to 4 years old in rural areas. The assistance would include technical assistance for developing shared services, like provider networks, according to Fischer’s office.
Fischer said she hears from families in Nebraska constantly, and the same is true for her colleagues around the country and across the aisle. “There is a lot of stress in families when you’re trying to balance everything: taking care of your children, being able to advance your career — and, a lot of times, that stress has consequences for families,” she told NBC News.
“So we’re trying to say, yes, you can keep working, providing for your family, and still be able to have good quality child care and make a decision that fits your family needs,” she added.
With the new bill, states would consult parents, providers and employers to develop child care plans, particularly in areas where there are currently child care deserts and a high percentage of children with disabilities.
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The bill has the support of the First Five Years Fund, an advocacy organization working to build bipartisan support for affordable and high-quality early learning and child care.
“This issue touches families in every single congressional district, and that’s why it is one of the few that hasn’t been politicized,” Sarah Rittling, the group’s executive director, told NBC News. “Access to affordable, reliable child care is one of the biggest challenges facing working families.”
Rittling also highlighted significant new spending on child care previously passed by Republicans and signed into law by President Donald Trump as part of the “big, beautiful bill” — which also made unpopular cuts to Medicaid and other programs.
That child care provision, which infuses $16 billion into multiple federal credit programs for working parents not touched in decades, was backed by Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., (who voted against the overall package, with all Democrats).
It was the biggest investment in child care in years, and Rittling said this new effort by Fischer and her colleagues to expand the block grant and make additional reforms to the industry is proof that the issue of access to affordable child care has momentum.
“Because of the support, it’s starting a conversation about where we go from here and what we are doing at the federal government. We know there is broad support, lawmakers constantly hear about it back home. It’s an issue in desperate need of solution,” Rittling added.
